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Anthony Steven Williams, 47, of Alto
State and local law enforcement officials are hoping they made a major dent in the regional drug pipeline just in time for the holidays.
An investigation by the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office spanning several months ended just before Thanksgiving with 13 arrests in an alleged drug trafficking conspiracy involving members of the street “Aryan Brotherhood.”
Arrests were made in both Georgia and Tennessee in the case that involved work from various agencies, including the Baldwin Police Department, Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Community Supervision, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Gang Task Force.
Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell said he believed the bust to be a strong blow to the drug traffic through the county and the region as a whole.
“The drug task force kept working this case and following leads until it became a big deal,” Terrell said. “We are not naive enough to think that someone will not take their place, but where would the drug problem in this country be if we didn’t try?”
For eight of the suspects, the charges included sanction under the Racketeering Influence Corruption Organization Act (RICO). Multiple firearms, illegal narcotics, and drug objects were seized at both Habersham residences where search warrants were executed.
Anthony Steven Williams, 47, of Alto was among those charged in both RICO (three counts) and violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act (two counts).
Williams also was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substances and drug objects, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a sawed-off shotgun, considered a weapon of mass destruction.
An ARDEO press release indicated the gang involved here was the Aryan Brotherhood, which is a neo-Nazi prison gang founded in 1964 in San Quentin State Prison in California.
Terrell said he has not seen much trouble from the Aryan Brotherhood specifically in Habersham County, but acknowledged they are a large part of the drug trade that funnels through here.
“We haven’t had a huge gang problem here, but we are not isolated from what is going on in this country,” Terrell said. “You don’t have to be a Blood or a Crip to be in a gang, and charging this through the street gang law will add some time to the crime. It will at least send a message that we don’t want them trying this stuff in our county.”
Michael Adam McGuire, 45, of Clarkesville also was charged with a violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act along with RICO charges, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of marijuana with intent and trafficking methamphetamine.
Terrell said he has more often encountered members of the Ghostface gang, mostly in the jail and not as much out on the road. The Ghostface Gangsters are the largest gang born in Georgia, according to the Department of Community Supervision, and they are prevalent particularly in North Georgia.
Allie Breanna Murray, 24, of Cornelia was charged with possession of methamphetamine and a drug object, along with possession of the sawed-off shotgun found in the same raid as Williams. Anthony Scott Loggins, 50, of Alto also was charged in that arrest with criminal use of an article with altered serial number and possession of a sawed-off shotgun.
Murray and Loggins were not charged as being part of the Aryan Brotherhood gang.
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Jackson County, Habersham County, Stephens County, Rabun County and Franklin County, Gilmer County, Fannin County, along with the Cleveland Police Department, Lavonia Police Department, the Toccoa Police Department, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
ARDEO encourages residents to report any suspicious drug activity via Facebook Instant Messenger or at 706-348-7410 or contact the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office or municipal police department.